'Golden Girls' star Bea Arthur dies at 86

Emmy Award-winning actress Bea Arthur, best known as star of the hit TV comedies Maude and Golden Girls, has died at age 86, entertainment news websites reported.

Ms Arthur, a longtime stage actress whose comic timing and deadpan delivery were a perfect fit for her sharp-tongued roles on the two series, died of cancer at her Los Angeles home, celebrity website TMZ reported. Representatives for the actress, who won best-actress Emmys - America's top television award - for Maude and Golden Girls, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Born Beatrice Frankel in New York on May 13, 1922, Ms Arthur began performing in college and appeared in Broadway and off-Broadway roles, winning a Tony Award opposite Angela Lansbury in Mame. In the early 1970s, Ms Arthur appeared on the groundbreaking TV comedy All in the Family as Edith Bunker's fiercely liberal cousin Maude. Producers who saw gold in the role quickly devised a spinoff for the character.

According to CNN, no funeral services had been planned for Ms Arthur. She is survived by two sons and two grandchildren, and family members have asked that in lieu of flowers donations be sent to two of her favourite causes, the ArtAttack foundation and the animal rights group PETA.